Wednesday, October 9, 2013

On the semi-nomadic life...

Well, it's been two months since my last post. I have returned to Melbourne, on what has been a bit of a whirlwind of activity. Upon my return, I've been doing some work at the Melbourne Writers Festival, and remounting my show from the Adelaide Fringe, "Songs from the End of the World", performing it at the Kew Court House, the Darebin Music Feast, and the Sydney Fringe Festival. Unsurprisingly, this has been physically and emotionally exhausting, but also a wonderful reaffirmation of the kinds of things I want to do with my life, and a reminder of why Melbourne is still my favourite place in the world (although, admittedly, Sydney is also starting to catch up in the coffee and brunch stakes...)

But now, I sit here amongst boxes as, once again, I pack up my life. I seem to be doing this every couple of months - uprooting my life, and taking myself to a new place to challenge myself in new ways. For almost a year... well, let me recap:

January / February - three and a half weeks in Adelaide, with Swing Camp Oz, Kangaroo Island, and my show at the Adelaide Fringe.March - a month of backpacking and swing dancing around Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.April - A month back in Melbourne, preparing for...May / June - Two months in Alotau, Milne Bay Province, PNG, ending with a long weekend in Hobart, via Melbourne, and then back to PNG on the 30th of June for...July / August - Six weeks living next to a volcano in Rabaul, East New Britain, PNG. Returning to Melbourne on the 13th of August.

And now, two months later, I'll be flying back to Vietnam. I'm going to be spending three months in one of the most awesome locations - Hoi An. Home of many tailors, a 500-year old Japanese Bridge, and some of the best cuisine in Vietnam, including the banh mi that Anthony Bourdain ate and declared the best in the world. To say that I'm excited would be an understatement.

But I also confess that this lifestyle doesn't feel sustainable. I'm trying to bridge two lives - the life of the perennial traveller, and the life of the career-minded worker, and soon I think I'm going to have to make a decision to put down roots somewhere, at least for a couple of years. And although I haven't left year, I also feel like I need to be putting plans in place for January when I return.

And so, I wait for the stars to finally align, and set me on a new, more permanent path. But until then.... Hoi An awaits!